The Philadelphia Eagles obviously have a ton of belief in DeVonta Smith, and that was only confirmed when they decided to move on from A.J. Brown. Smith, undoubtedly one of the better wide receivers in the NFL, will have a bit of a different look than he typically does this season.
There's reason to believe he can be an elite player, though he'll have to show he can be the guy teams focus on week in and week out. For a lot of the past few seasons, that focus has been on Brown, who many consider a top five to seven wide receiver in the NFL.
The Eagles' running game will also be a big factor in a lot of this, though I expect Brown's trade to have more impact on Smith than on the running game as of right now. Frankly, I actually view it as a positive for Smith, as I think he's going to have his best season yet.
While I'm excited to see how he plays, I also understand that Smith has some questions heading into next season given these factors.
“A huge part of the equation for the Eagles' willingness to trade Brown was that they believe that DeVonta Smith is primed for stardom. Smith has averaged over 1,000 receiving yards per season despite serving as a complementary piece to Brown. He is wired for big moments and big roles, and feels more than ready to become the focal point of the Eagles' passing game. He will almost certainly dominate targets in 2026 as long as he stays healthy.
“Obviously, this will be an important camp for Smith, but the Eagles also have to be smart about his maintenance,” Jimmy Kempski wrote.
I understand this will be an important camp for Smith, but I am also unsure how much I really believe that.
My reasoning is that we already know what type of player he is, and the only question he genuinely has to answer is whether he can handle being the focus of the passing game, which I'm about 99.9% sure he can.
